Canadians
remember amid the U.S. ghosts of warBy
CARLY WEEKSCourtesy
of The Toronto Globe and Mail11
November 2004Amid
the ghosts of American military accomplishment, Canadians came to remember.

At
Arlington National Cemetery about a dozen Canadian military personnel,
as well as a few civilians, gathered Thursday near the Cross of Sacrifice,
erected 77 years earlier, to pay homage to the heroes of war.

The
small Remembrance Day service is held each year at the Cross of Sacrifice,
which is dedicated to Americans who died fighting for Canada in battle.

The
cross memorializes those U.S. citizens who joined the Canadian armed forces
and lost their lives prior to U.S. entry into the First World War.

While
the rest of the United States paused to reflect yesterday on what is known
as Veterans Day, these Canadians quietly kept up the traditions of Remembrance
Day.

A short
service was conducted in French and English, poppies were pinned to a large
memorial wreath, and the padre officiating at the ceremony offered prayers
for those Canadians who lost their lives in battle.

Earlier
in the day, Canadian dignitaries and military personnel from around the
world participated in a large, formal ceremony at the Canadian Embassy
in Washington. Michael Kergin, Canada's ambassador to the United States,
reminded the crowd of about 150 that Canadians should be proud of their
history and those soldiers who fought to help maintain freedom in the world.

“Canadians
continue to defend these rights, both at home and abroad,” Mr. Kergin said,
reminding those in attendance of the nation's tradition of participating
in peacekeeping missions.

But
later in the day, the atmosphere shifted as the handful of people that
made up the quiet Canadian contingent at Arlington National Cemetery created
an air of humble, reserved reflection.

More
than anything, stopping to reflect on Canada's war sacrifices in the United
States capital, where a slew of services honouring American soldiers were
under way, lent a spirit of camaraderie to the Remembrance Day service.

In
fact, most of those in attendance knew each other by name and even car
pooled to the service together. After the service, Warrant Officer Stu
Preston of Trenton, who played the Last Post, joked with journalists, fellow
military officers and a Canadian Embassy staff member about the possibility
of seeing himself on national television.

In
sharp contrast, as the Canadian service was under way, hundreds of people
were gathered about 100 metres away at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
to witness the changing of the guard.

By
all accounts, the Canadian ceremony was typical—prayers, hearing the Last
Post, observing a moment of silence—but here, in a country where poppies
hold no remembrance, those Canadian traditions were significant.

At
that spot on a hill at the foot of the Cross of Sacrifice, rows of white
gravestones stretch into the distance, reminiscent of the fields of crosses
in the poem that was recited hundreds of times in Canada yesterday.

The
solemn surroundings of a cemetery where an open field of grass has been
set aside for soldiers who may be killed in Iraq makes it impossible to
forget the grim toll of war.Updated:
11 November 2004